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Goodbye Good Ann Ann Richardson, who quietly served our community for over 20 years as a doer and organizer, has moved on. She fought a recurring cancer this past year, there were the usual signs, but she was uncomplaining, continuing the caring service that marked her life. But...

In last week’s column, I promised to tell the story of Laguna’s first official schoolhouse where four churches also got their start. To set the scene, here’s a quick history of pioneer Laguna, beginning in the 1870s when extended family groups began to settle the area. The...

A Tale of Two Churches Attending Laguna’s churches is as enjoyable as a sunset walk on our beaches. I’ve said this before and I’ll keep saying it until our chapels are so full you can’t find a seat. Last Sunday, I was welcomed at two churches of distinct and unique character:...

Gifts of Children It’s election season in our great democracy, but you do sometimes need a break from posturing and preening politicians. Last week, we told of little Lauren Kimball bringing a congregation to tears with her rendition of Billy Graham’s favorite hymn, “How Great...

Children Bless Also A fascinating study was published the other day. The findings came from Harvard’s “Growing Up Today Study,” following 26,000 children since 1996. (The children were from mothers in the Nurses’ Health Study, started 20 years earlier, so there was prior family...

King’s Mountain Sunday, Oct. 7, is the anniversary of a 1780 Revolutionary War battle you’ve likely never heard of. It’s meaningful because it was crucial to winning the war. Could I share the story, beginning with a bit of history? In the early 1600s, England, weary of Irish...

Justice That Heals Have you caught any of the “Real Talk” events at Laguna’s Susi Q Center? Real Talk is a series of 15-minute lectures followed by community discussion, sponsored by Baha’i’s of Laguna Beach.  Past events addressed empowering youth, the impact of social media,...

A Kinder Laguna Did you notice in the Indy that Councilman Steve Dicterow, concerned about the decline of civility in public affairs, is starting a kindness campaign? Most would agree our society is unusually polarized today. From Washington D.C. to city hall, there’s a dearth of...

The Good Rabbi To better understand the Jewish High Holy Days, which started at sunset on Sept. 9, I went to see Rabbi Elimelech Goorevitch at the Chabad Jewish Center. Chabad is an orthodox Jewish movement, said to be the fastest growing, planted in Laguna 24 years ago by Rabbi...

Meaning in Midway I’m writing, for the third and last week, as a self-appointed Indy correspondent to little Midway, a.k.a. the Switzerland of Utah. The temperature is dropping into the 40s at night, the maples on the mountain are turning red, which means it’s time for—Swiss...

Meaning in Relationships Do you remember Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion” radio show, with the news report from Lake Wobegon? In fictional Lake Wobegon, the women were strong, the men good looking, and the children all above average. There’s a plethora of such towns...

The Meaning of Family The Beautiful Wife is half Swiss, which explains her height (5 foot 2 inches) and love of chocolate. Her immigrating Swiss ancestors were farmers who settled the mountain village of Midway, Utah back in the 1860s. I’m writing this from the parlor of the...

One-Step Authenticity The word of the week is “authentic,” the flip side of hypocritical. Two weeks ago, I wrote that Mark Twain’s writing reflected his search for truth and authenticity. Twain, though wary of religion, had a spiritual perspective and enjoyed long friendships...

There’s a new acronym—SBNR.  As in ‘spiritual but not religious.’  A lot of people frequent this category.  Pollsters say 20-25 percent describe themselves as SBNR.  They’re on a spiritual quest.  Aren’t we all?  Folks may take a break as life demands, but all seem to have a...

Spiritual but Not Religious I’ve said it before—attending Laguna’s churches is as enjoyable as a sunset walk on the beach.  Last Sunday offered two compelling choices: United Methodist featured the Urban Voices, a choir drawn from the homeless of Los Angeles’ skid row. The Urban...